I think it was poor decision making on the part of Williams, not the scheme. We defeated ourselves today, but MAN!, was it exciting. we have a young team still developing. we multi-picked Ellie-Mae , and sacked him for the first time this month. It is not all bad. Moss fumbling was a bad break, but I am proud of the way the whole team played. A couple of good safeties and maybe another bad-MARA reciever this off season and we look to be contenders. We had two "good" safeties, but they couldn't stay healthy, so we have to make do for now. We may not be winning yet, but people are starting to fear and respect us. I find more fault in some of the offensive play-calling than in the defensive.

Everybody funny, now you funny too ...

"The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have." -Vince Lombardi

Every Redskin fan here knew prior to training camp this year that our secondary was suspect and the weakest unit on the team. Then one week before the start of the regular season we lost our expected starters at safety in Meriweather and Jackson.

But it's all Haslett's fault, right? I disagree completely.

The most difficult task for a coach making the transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 is with the front seven, not the back four. I'll never forget all those experts around here who claimed from their vast experience that players such as Fletcher, Orakpo, Riley, Bowen, Cofield, Jackson and Kerrigan could never fit in a 3-4. Yet the facts remain that after our 1st year adjustment, our front seven has been more than solid and those players many claimed couldn't play in a 3-4 have been excellent. Our run defense has been stout with the front seven.

Raheem Morris was brought in to rework the secondary. Morris has been mostly left alone to scheme the secondary and that's where our deficiencies have been. Our secondary personnel is below average and we all knew it prior to the season starting.

Last year we lacked o-line depth, WR's who could gain YAC and a quality QB. So that's where emphasis was placed during the offseason. You can't upgrade every unit on the team in one offseason. And there's no way the coaches could have anticipated losing Meriweather and Jackson just prior to the season starting. We are now having to use 2nd and 3rd stringers as starters at safety. Not Haslett's fault.

In my opinion, Morris should be getting more of the blame for the ineffective schemes used by the secondary. Morris runs the secondary; it's his unit and mostly his schemes. Perhaps the team has given Morris too much leeway due to his time as a head coach in Tampa. Yet some of you want to take the coach of the most ineffective unit on the team and promote him to defensive coordinator. Yeah right... LMAO

I'll reemphasize that it's the front seven who has the biggest hill to climb when making the transition to a 3-4 and Haslett has done a very good job with that unit. Probably why he got the extension.

But what I'm more stunned with is that folks around here still act like this is the 'same old team' from years past. It's not, by a long shot. The Shanahan's are doing an incredible job with RG3 and the offense, the kind of offensive output we haven't seen in a long time. Better personnel in our secondary will go along way for our defense. But what you don't want is to start making coaching changes... again, which in effect changes the defensive schemes... again.

If the entire defense was horrible, or the front seven was awful, or Haslett hadn't of gotten this defense to the respectable ranking of 13th in the league last year in his 2nd season, then I would agree with making a DC change. But the front seven is solid with good coaching and schemes. It's a personnel issue with the secondary, not the DC.

coaching changes are the reason this team has been nfc east doormats for the past ten years. change now and rebuild for another 3 years is something that only a uninformed. casual fan would be calling for. gve us so
e db talent at saftey and this is a top ten d. haz is doing all he can with the joes he haz

coaching changes are the reason this team has been nfc east doormats for the past ten years. change now and rebuild for another 3 years is something that only a uninformed. casual fan would be calling for. gve us so
e db talent at saftey and this is a top ten d. haz is doing all he can with the joes he haz

1. Haz didn't lose this game for us. Madieu Williams appeared to be in place for the over the op coverage, but for some reason he sat there. Eli explained that it was an option on Cruz's part. If he saw the safety up, he was to run a go. Madieu was up and Cruz was gone. That is not on Haz.

Why wasn't the safety playing further back? Because we still needed to defense against a FG, but he still had Madieu in position to turn and run with a cushion to protect against the deep ball. According to Eli, If Madieu moves back, Cruz does the short option and perhaps catches the ball for a first down at the worst and at best Wilson is in positon with the underneath coverage.

2. The 3-4 is not the problem. I don't agree with a base defense change. We might need to mix up the scehmes more, but the 3-4 is a good base.

3. Should Haz be fired at the end of the season? I see Haz making changes and relaxing his all out blitzing tactics. To me, his scheme was good today. The only fear I have is his inconsistency. I don't think he is inconsistent, because he is incompetent, it is because he believes that players should fit his scheme. He has virtually no pass rush and a weak secondary. They can't play the Pittsburgh 3-4. It is time to adjust to your personnel. This is what I have been calling for. Simplify your coverages to allow for Madieu who is new to grasp what is going on. The Viking game saw some adjustments. The Giant game saw even more. Haz seems to have Eli's number. He has done well in scheming the better teams. No matter what Haz does, this won't be a top defense, but he could have it playing better and to me in the last two games, he has.

Haz needs to take it a step further and look at the San Francisco scheme and simplify his until he gets better players next year.

I am sure it was mentioned on the game thread but... I haven't read it. I saw holding like crazy that wasn't called on the Giants. I am sure we did the same but I am biased of course. Not an excuse just what I observed. I would like someone to explain the illegal movement on Davis I think it was. Even the announcers were saying well I cant see it, it must have been someone else.

Hold your head up high we did well against a team that crushed the 9ners.

Kilmer72 wrote:I am sure it was mentioned on the game thread but... I haven't read it. I saw holding like crazy that wasn't called on the Giants. I am sure we did the same but I am biased of course. Not an excuse just what I observed. I would like someone to explain the illegal movement on Davis I think it was. Even the announcers were saying well I cant see it, it must have been someone else.

Hold your head up high we did well against a team that crushed the 9ners.

Well, there was that one "hands-to-the-face" no call, right in front of a ref... that actually dehelmeted Zo... no way he didn't see it. No way.

Kilmer72 wrote:I am sure it was mentioned on the game thread but... I haven't read it. I saw holding like crazy that wasn't called on the Giants. I am sure we did the same but I am biased of course. Not an excuse just what I observed. I would like someone to explain the illegal movement on Davis I think it was. Even the announcers were saying well I cant see it, it must have been someone else.

Hold your head up high we did well against a team that crushed the 9ners.

Well, there was that one "hands-to-the-face" no call, right in front of a ref... that actually dehelmeted Zo... no way he didn't see it. No way.

I saw that one too! Right in front of the ref, yet they called the phantom call on Polumbus.

I am watching the Steeler D get shoved around by the Bengals run game.
Our D is modeled after the Steeler's D. We have a light wieght NT in Cofield, but all season long, our D has held its own against the run.

Haz is doing something right with the front seven.

I do notice that the Steeler D linemen are very aggressive off the ball on the pass rush. They slam their bodies into the Bengal lineman and immediately start shoving them back. The Bengal linemen are massive.

I would love to see that intensity level of our D linemen on the pass rush. I do concede that my perceived lower intensity on the pass rush might be due more to the inexperience of the 3-4 scheme than Haz not pumping guys up. Perhaps the Steeler show more intensity because they are playing more on instinct since the scheme has been in place for years in Pittsburgh. All the more reason not to change back to the 4-3.

Anyone who might suggest a return to the 4-3 clearly does not understand the game... It was TWO seasons before we were able to match our front 7 personel to a 3-4... it would be at least that long to convert back.